Redskins Have Two Weeks To Get It Right

I happened to catch the first half of the Giants/Browns game on Monday night. The first 15 minutes of the game was total domination by the defending champions. I immediately thought, "Wow, Zorn better get things going before September 4th". In case you missed it, the Giants ran the ball with ease, threw the ball all over the field, and scored at will....that was just the offense in the first quarter. Then their defense shut down the Browns (who were actually very good last season). They even knocked the Browns starting quarterback out with a concussion. And, for the hell of it, they blocked a punt for a safety, then returned a kick for a touch down. All of this happened in the first quarter. Score: 30 - 3.

The Washington Redskins will open the season in the Meadowlands in a couple weeks. I have liked what I have seen from Zorn & Campbell so far, and I think the defense will be just as good if not better than last year. But after that performance against the Jets it makes you wonder a little. Who will show up come September 4 when the Redskins and Giants kickoff the NFL season on prime time? Will Jansen and Samuels hold off Umenyiora and Tuck to give Campbell time to throw? Will Taylor and Carter keep Manning out of a groove? Will Portis and Betts out gain Jacobs and Bradshaw? Will Fletcher out-tackle Pierce? These teams are pretty similar, huh?

We'll have a better idea after Saturday's preseason game in Charlotte. This is the best chance to see what we've got. The Redskins plan on playing the starters a full half of the game. This is when Jason Campbell must take some shots down field...air it out, it's the preseason! This is a great chance to put Cooley and Davis in on two tight end sets...let's see how a defense responds to that. This is the chance for Fred Smoot and Shawn Springs to actually intercept a football instead of pounding the turf as the ball wobbles on the ground next to them (they've each dropped an easy pick this summer). This is when we should see Clinton Portis rip of a 75 yard run like Rock Cartwright did last week. Jake Delhomme seems like a fine specimen for the Andre Carter/Jason Taylor experiment to be unleashed on. And last, lets see a couple of those creative fleaflickers that Zorn dreamed about doing while being an assistant in Seattle all those years.

You see, some of these things need to be "tried" in case the season opener against the Giants turns into a shootout...or nail biter. So better test them this weekend for two full quarters. I don't think there will be much time the following week against the Jaquars. So Zorn, let it rip this weekend. Practice makes perfect. We may just need it come Thursday night, around 10:15 p.m. on September 4th.

Hail.

Former Redskin Heath Shuler Is "Washington's Finest"

Upcoming Washington, D.C. magazine "Washington's Finest" has former Redskins Quarterback of the Future - Heath Shuler on the cover in one of their preview ads. I saw it and did a double take. Washington's finest? Seriously?

For those that do not know or remember, Heath Shuler was the Redskins first round draft pick (number 3 overall) in 1994. He was dubbed the Redskins Quarterback of the Future for all of 18 games that he started for the Redskins. Shuler was traded to the Saints after his third season in Washington and losing the starting job to Gus Frerotte (who is still in the NFL).

I am sure Heath Shuler is a good guy, and maybe even a great congressman, but Washington's finest? Maybe this new magazine should consider putting Brandon Lloyd on the cover for a special Christmas edition of Washington's Finest. LMAO.

Almost, but no cigar

At least the Redskins moved on from Shuler very quickly. The recent drawn out quarterback projects in Detroit, Houston, San Fransisco, Chicago, and Baltimore have paralyzed those respective teams for years (then again, so were the Skins after Shuler). Maybe Joey Harrington, David Carr, Alex Smith, Rex Grossman, or Kyle Boller can one day return to their inaugural team's city and run for mayor or something....maybe they can be on the cover of that city's newest and lamest magazine.

Hail.

Redskins Depth Players Put Up Stats

With two weeks left in the preseason the Washington Redskins make their presence known on the NFL stat tracker. Sure, they had an extra game to pad their stats but so did Indianapolis. And when it comes to the Colts, it's a good thing to be in their company when mentioning stats for offense or defense.

According to NFL.com the Redskins are in the top 5 in four of the six main categories (Passing Yards, Rushing Yards, Receiving Yards, Tackles). Marcus Mason leads the NFL in rushing with 233 yards, but Rock Cartwright is third with 148 yards. Matt Sinclair is second in the NFL with 18 tackles, Khary Campbell is right behind Sinclair with 15 tackles, Billy McMullen is fourth with 142 receiving yards, and Colt Brennan comes in fifth with 239 yards passing.

If you look a little deeper you'll see Shaun Suisham is fourth in kick offs. Yeah, kickoffs. Suisham was pretty lousy at that last season, so it's good to see him averaging 70.9 yards per kickoff with 2 touch backs. He'll need to keep that up when the season starts, but this is promising.

Durant Brooks in 10th in the league in punting (not bad for a rookie) while Derrick Frost is 38th. I think the writing is on the wall for Frost.

This shows that our depth players are starting to stand out in the league. It's always a good thing when your third and fourth string guys out perform the rest of the leagues third and fourth string guys, especially under a new head coach.

Again, it's just preseason, but to see our depth players make these kind of contributions is definitely a good thing and long overdue. Teamwise, the Skins are just so-so in the middle of the pack, but they have been pulling out wins this preseason and have been lucky at times. The next games against the Panthers and Jaguars will wrap up the preseason, but I think we've seen enough from the guys mentioned above...I say they all make this squad.

Hail.

Former Redskin Great Joe Jacoby Wants to Coach...

First, Joe Jacoby needs to be in the Hall of Fame. Along with Russ Grimm.

It was reported last month that former Redskins Hog Joe Jacoby wanted to get into coaching. And it was reported today that Jacoby took a "volunteer" assistant coaching job with the small Shenandoah University.

You'd think that the Washington Redskins would have room for a guy of his caliber to help out Joe Bugel with the offensive line, especially with Bugel being out for some time to be with his ill daughter. And, the fact that Jacoby is volunteering at Shenandoah University makes me think either Jacoby didn't want to start coaching in the pros or the Redskins didn't want him to start here either. Whichever the case, I think Jacoby would make one hell of a coach and if he eventually coaches in the NFL like Russ Grimm he would likely increase his chances of getting into the Hall of Fame due to the publicity and being around the game more.

Joe Jacoby #66

With Bugel getting up there in age, and retirement a possibility, I think Jacoby would fit in nicely with the Dirtbags. There is no doubt he could help teach the young guys (Heyer, Reinhart). Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Other notable former players turned coaches:

Tom Landry, Dan Reeves, Mike Ditka, Mike Singletary, Bill Cower, Tom Flores, Jim Zorn, Sam Wyche, John Madden, Chuck Noll, Don Shula, Earnest Byner

Share your thoughts on Jacoby coaching, or any other former player turn coach.

Jim Zorn Pulls Pants Down; Bonds With Redskins Players

I knew the Redskins got a nutty coach on February 10th 2008. The infamous Maroon & Black press conference was just the beginning of the quirky head coach from Seattle. Sally Jenkins was one of DC's first to write about Zorn's likability...and she was right. The man is an open book that says what he thinks, and does so in his own unique way. That's exactly what went down recently, according to Matt Mosley of ESPN. According the the article, Zorn got his point across, and continued the bond he has formed with his players. As the Redskins were getting ready to travel to Ohio for the Hall of Fame game Zorn had a meeting about the dress code:

In what must've been a surreal moment for the players, Zorn began naming off certain brands (True Religion, Republic, 7's for All Mankind) and noted that he understood that people would be wearing $250 T-shirts.

Then he turned around, pulled down his pants and tightened his belt.

"But I don't want you to wear saggy jeans," he said to roaring laughter.

Campbell characterized it as a breakthrough moment for the new staff.

Steve Largent & Jim Zorn (looking kinda brokebackish)

I couldn't imagine former Redskin coaches Joe Gibbs, Steve Spurrier, or Marty Schottenheimer pulling that one. Jim Zorn gets his point across, but in his own way. And in a town full of politicians with full time speech writers telling you what they think the people want to hear, we have Jim Zorn, who only says what he wants to say. This could be well received by the DC people for the foreseeable future...all Jim Zorn has to do now is WIN.

Jim Zorn Signature (via his right brain artist stuff)

Here are some interesting facts about Jim Zorn:

• Given name: James Arthur Zorn (Art Monk's given name: James Arthur Monk)
  
• The meaning of Zorn in the modern German language means wrath but its meaning in old Germanic is more to "tear apart" or destroy.
  
• The town of Zorn, Texas is 233 miles from some crappy city called Dallas, Texas
  
• Jim Zorn led the NFL in pass attempts in 1976 (over Tarkenton and Staubach)
  
• Jim Zorn led the NFL in interceptions in 1976 (over Stabler and Namath)
  
• Jim zorn led the NFL in yards per completion in 1977 (over Bradshaw)
  
• Jim Zorn led the NFL in sacks in 1978 (over Theismann, Jaworski, Manning)

Quotes on Jim Zorn:
Steve Largent: "There's no question, Jim comes at things from a different perspective, he thinks about things differently than a normal person does."

Matt Hasselbeck: "He's just honest. He's a very bad liar. He'll tell you what he thinks, and he'll tell you the truth."

Mike Holmgren to Dan Snyder: "You absolutely did the right thing. Now help him as an owner. Help him. Do everything you can to help him because you've got a good man."

Quotes by Jim Zorn:
"I always want to be good at everything" - July 16, 2008

"I won't be here until 2 o'clock in the morning" - July 21, 2008

"We're just going to jump right in" - July 21, 2008

"Bigger, faster stronger - that's what this league is" - July 30, 2008

"It's going to be really fun, but there are going to be some errors" - August 2, 2008

"You sort of have that image in your mind of how a head coach is supposed to behave" - August 7, 2008


HAIL.

Redskins 2008 53 Man Roster - Prediction

The Washington Redskins kick off the regular season in about 4 weeks. The guys on the fringe have a lot of time left to get noticed, so this can change, especially if there is an injury. Here is my prediction of the 53 man roster when the Washington Redskins walk into the Meadowlands on September 4th and give the NY Giants a beat down.

Quarterback

Campbell, Jason
Collins, Todd
Brennan, Colt

Running Back

Portis, Clinton
Betts, Ladell
Cartwright, Rock

Fullback
Sellers, Mike

Wide Receiver

Moss, Santana
Randle El, Antwaan
Thrash, James
Thomas, Devin
Kelly, Malcolm
McMullen, Billy

Tight End
Cooley, Chris
Davis, Fred
Yoder, Todd

Offensive Line
Rabach, Casey

Samuels, Chris
Jansen, Jon
Thomas, Randy
Kendall, Pete
Heyer, Stephon
Fabini, Jason
Wade, Todd
Rinehart, Chad

Defensive Tackle
Griffin, Cornelius
Golston, Kedric
Montgomery, Anthony
Alexander, Lorenzo
Boschetti, Ryan
Defensive End

Taylor, Jason

Carter, Andre
Evans, Demetric
Wilson, Chris
James, Erasmus (PUP List)

Linebackers
Fletcher, London
Washington, Marcus
McIntosh, Rocky
Blades, H.B.
Campbell, Khary
Sinclair, Matt

Safety

Landry, LaRon

Doughty, Reed

Fox, Vernon

Horton, Chris

Moore, Kareem
Corner Back
Springs, Shawn
Smoot, Fred

Rogers, Carlos
Torrence, Leigh
Tryon, Justin

Kicker
Suisham, Shaun

Punter
Brooks, Durant
Long Snapper
Albright, Ethan

Jim Zorn may decide to keep two fullbacks, and if that is the case you may see Nehemiah Broughton take a roster spot from an aging offensive lineman. Either Fabini or Wade could be out since most teams usually only carry eight linemen. But, I think Broughton will end up on the practice squad if he is still eligible for it.

The safety position really scares me. Who would have thought that this time last year when the late great Sean Taylor was teaming up with LaRon Landry to form one of the greatest tandems ever seen? If Landry gets dinged up from his wild man play then you're looking at a pretty big step down. Blache has indicated they will keep five safeties, and including the two rookies Moore and Horton, that's all they have.

The defensive end position looks good. Jason Taylor and Andre Carter are getting a ton of rest this training camp and should be ready to roll come September 4th. Demetric Evans will rotate in on some downs, while Chris Wilson is strictly a back up pass rusher. Erasmus James is still hurt, so he will be on the PUP list until October and will not count against the roster until then.

A lot of people love Marcus Mason and he has looked good so far this camp. But you have to be real here. You have three very capable running backs on the roster ahead of him. Having four running backs is a luxury and that one extra spot could be used at a position with more need, like the defensive line or linebacker. Mason will likely end up on the practice squad again.

Well, that's my take. There is plenty of time for people to play well, play poor, and get hurt. So it will be interesting to see how this looks in four weeks. But, I would not mind heading into the regular season with the roster above....pretty solid in my opinion.

Hail.